Hab service or not

bridgedino

bridgedino

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Sitting on the fence regarding a hab service. The MH will be 1yr old in June, we have covered almost 6k miles since we bought it new. As its new I have checked it over a few times with my damp meter, the meter figures haven't changed at all. Also all the appliances are working with no issues. The dealer is 500 miles away, so a 1000 mile round trip. McLouis say I have to have it done at the dealers who sold it to maintain the 5yr warranty. So do I continue to monitor things myself and put the hab service money into a pot instead to keep for repairs ? Or take the empty MH on a 1000 mile trip just to have it checked over bearing in mind the hab cost and fuel cost

Do others skip the dealership and keep an eye on things themselves, effectively foregoing any warranty?
 
It’s a gamble.

Get water ingress and if it’s serious, it could be thousands. No check means no chance of warranty.

That said, I couldn’t wait for our caravan to be out of warranty so I could do everything properly.
 
I wouldn't bother if requiring a 1k mile round journey, but it seems wrong they should expect that of you.
Could it not be done by a local approved motorhome dealer ?
 
No McLouis dealers nearer?
 
I live in Scotland and got my hab checks done in France and Germany while the van was under warranty. 😜

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Due to the Pandemic the rules governing our hab check were not practical.

Loudhams:
300 mile round trip
Van had to be empty and in 'quarantine' on their premises for 24 hrs
1 day to do the work
and then in quarantine for another 24 hrs
There is a pandemic on, which means not realistic to do long distance travel on public transport, nor any local hotels even open to stay over for 4 nights.
Dealer not prepared to extend warranty until the pandemic was lifted.

Hence I have dropped the Hab checks, it will be out of warranty in September 2023 in any case.

I just got a full service done by the local Mercedes dealer.
A lot less hassle and they only put the van in quarantine overnight, so I delivered it at 5pm and picked up at 5pm next day (and a 15 mile cycle ride two days in a row, as very little public transport at the time)
 
Theres a nearer Mclouis dealer in Ayrshire however when I contacted Mclouis to ask if I could have it carried out at one of their dealers closer to home they said it had to be the one where i bought it. The MH is apparently constructed wood free according to the brochure. My prev MH was a new Bailey Advance and the hab test didnt include any damp measurements, they just checked the condition of the bolts and fittings holding the walls and floors together. I know its a gamble but I read a few tales on here about dealers doing everything they can to dodge genuine warranty claims, even after the owner had met all the requirements
 
bridgedino said:
Theres a nearer Mclouis dealer in Ayrshire however when I contacted Mclouis to ask if I could have it carried out at one of their dealers closer to home they said it had to be the one where i bought it. The MH is apparently constructed wood free according to the brochure. My prev MH was a new Bailey Advance and the hab test didnt include any damp measurements, they just checked the condition of the bolts and fittings holding the walls and floors together. I know its a gamble but I read a few tales on here about dealers doing everything they can to dodge genuine warranty claims, even after the owner had met all the requirements
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The salesman I dealt almost admitted this is correct.

Once the van is sold, they really don't want to see it back again for any 'warranty' based issues, as there is not much money in it for them, and for major repairs getting the money back from the original manufacturer is very difficult and time consuming. They also tend to get 'paid' by getting a 'good deal' on the following years purchases.
 
I will admit that I was touring Europe when the checks were due, and found a Frankia dealer on my route. 😜

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bridgedino said:
Theres a nearer Mclouis dealer in Ayrshire however when I contacted Mclouis to ask if I could have it carried out at one of their dealers closer to home they said it had to be the one where i bought it.
Click to expand...
I think that its about time this restrictive practice was challenged in law. It's now not legal for cars to be forced to have their service at main dealers so what's different about motor homes.

As for insisting that it must be done at a particular dealership - that's plainly ridiculous.

Has anyone taken legal advice (or are there any lawyers on this forum who would know)?
 
Our van is now 7½ and never had a habitation check/service. So that's at least £1050 in credit plus whatever diesel would be used.

I did spent about £20 on stixall to seal round the whee arches so it's not all good news 😆
 
I say yes. Others here don't bother and I'm cool with that but glad I do with the sad misfortune suffered elsewhere, posted today, it's worth every penny. At my recent hab service the fitter gas tested the Co alarm and it took almost 6 minutes to sound, I'll replace it before we use the van again. I have found a mobile agent which works out cheaper than using a dealer.
 
bridgedino said:
Sitting on the fence regarding a hab service. The MH will be 1yr old in June, we have covered almost 6k miles since we bought it new. As its new I have checked it over a few times with my damp meter, the meter figures haven't changed at all. Also all the appliances are working with no issues. The dealer is 500 miles away, so a 1000 mile round trip. McLouis say I have to have it done at the dealers who sold it to maintain the 5yr warranty. So do I continue to monitor things myself and put the hab service money into a pot instead to keep for repairs ? Or take the empty MH on a 1000 mile trip just to have it checked over bearing in mind the hab cost and fuel cost

Do others skip the dealership and keep an eye on things themselves, effectively foregoing any warranty?
Click to expand...
Get it done and book us into somewhere that has a hot tub/ sauna 😉
 
Make it a short few days away and have the hab check done. If it throws up any issues though they won't fix it there and then as they will have to order parts,get the manufacturer to agree with the repair etc so you will have to go back again to get it done. It will take a few days so you will have to have your partner follow in the car so you can get back. And then to take you back to pick up your van after the repair.
If you don't get the check for and there is a repair required,it may cost you well over £1 k for a small damp repair as an example. :(

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bridgedino said:
Sitting on the fence regarding a hab service. The MH will be 1yr old in June, we have covered almost 6k miles since we bought it new. As its new I have checked it over a few times with my damp meter, the meter figures haven't changed at all. Also all the appliances are working with no issues. The dealer is 500 miles away, so a 1000 mile round trip. McLouis say I have to have it done at the dealers who sold it to maintain the 5yr warranty. So do I continue to monitor things myself and put the hab service money into a pot instead to keep for repairs ? Or take the empty MH on a 1000 mile trip just to have it checked over bearing in mind the hab cost and fuel cost

Do others skip the dealership and keep an eye on things themselves, effectively foregoing any warranty?
Click to expand...
Why would you not? Do you get your boiler serviced in your home? Gas fridge in the motorhome.Water filters changed. Our 04 Concorde Liner we had from new was serviced by main dealer Iveco and habitation service by Southdowns, every year. Sold it eleven years latter got back nearly what we paid for it new. Would you buy an expensive car without FSH?
 

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